The Most Frightening of Rides
by Numbuh 94
Summary: Fright Rider's history. Spin off of Skylanders: Rise of the Dragon King. Rated T. Rating may go up as later chapters are released, and if you don't like depressing stories, don't read!
1. Cole at Midnight

**The Most Frightening of Rides**

_Rider smiled and patted Fright on the neck. The brown-feathered ostrich had sky blue eyes and a long, skinny neck with nothing but fuzz covering it. Rider took a breath of the air around him and looked around._

_ The sky was bright and there were very few clouds in it. The sun was shining bright. Today was definitely a good day for jousting!_

_ The barn they were in was Fright's home. He had had the ostrich since he was a hatchling, and he was only three years old. Others called him strange for having a flightless bird as his steed rather than a huge stallion, but he didn't mind. His encounter with Fright had been completely unplanned, and he didn't mind that._

_ Rider took another deep breath and grabbed the reigns swinging at Fright's neck in his hands. He was just like most other elves—greenish skin, white eyes—the only difference was rather than blue hair, his hair was a dusky, smoky-black color… Many said he was evil because of it, or, at least, those who knew... He was wearing his red and black jousting costume. Just before he rode Fright out of the barn, he grabbed his hat off the hook on the wall. He couldn't let the public see his hair—they would automatically disown him because of it._

_ "Well, Fright, certainly a great day for jousting, eh?" He asked, riding the ostrich out of the barn into the fresh green grass of his home. His home was a small house a good four hundred yards or so away from the barn. Fright gave a squawk in reply and then dipped his head low. The ostrich tensed up, and then dashed forward. Rider grabbed his helmet and laughed, holding onto Fright tighter._

_ "Watch it, bud! You nearly sent me flying! Wait until we get to the jousting arena before you start that!" He said, but Fright did not stop. But suddenly, the ostrich screeched to a halt and Rider was sent sailing over Fright's head._

_ He stood up and huffed, brushing off his suit with annoyance. "Fright! What on Skylands was it this time?" He asked, obviously flustered._

_ Fright ducked his head in shame and gestured with his head towards a terrified looking cat-like creature in the bushes a few feet away._

_ Rider groaned. "Really, Fright? A cat?" Rider darted over to the bushes, scaring the feline away. He turned back to Fright. "You can't be so skittish!"_

_ Fright shook out his feathers and didn't make any sound. Rider jumped back on top of him and yanked on the reigns. "Come on Fright, giddy up!"_

_ Fright began running forward, but slower this time. Rider fixed his helmet (which had been hanging on by his ear) and enjoyed the scenery. Fright rode over a stone bridge that connected his village's island to the jousting tournaments' island._

_ "Still showing your face here, are you, Rider? Humph. You, a drow, and that dumb ostrich."_

_ Rider pulled on Fright's reigns to bring him to a stop. Rider turned and glared back at the speaker. It was just who he expected it to be—Cole. He was an elf as well, but had bright, golden skin with a silvery sheen to it that made him appear to shimmer in the sunlight. He had the brightest blue hair Rider had ever seen in his life and wore a pitch black jousting outfit. His horse was pretty much the same. _

_ The horse's name was Midnight, and he was pure black with a dark navy blue mane and tail. He had a dark crimson saddle and reigns on him. _

_ Rider realized that Fright was trembling in fear, and that was making him appear to be shaking. Rider slipped off Fright's back and glared up at Cole, who, due to riding a horse, was a good four or so feet taller than he was. "I'm not a drow! And why don't you go pick on someone your own size—like some little girl or something?" Rider smirked. Cole, without his horse, was pretty much a midget. He only came up to Rider's shoulder!_

_ "Well, drow, we'll see what happens during this tournament. Might have won every year in a row for the past four years, but that ends today!" Cole pulled the reigns on Midnight and the horse gave a whinny, before turning and stomping away. _

_ Rider swung his leg over Fright and hopped back on. "Bah, don't worry about that fool, Fright! We can take him. We're champions, remember?" Rider patted Fright's head and the ostrich nodded. _

_ The arena wasn't circular—it was rectangular in shape. It had long rows of bleachers on either side where various other people and creatures would come to watch. The center was where the action was. There were two dirt paths. On either path, a rider on his steed would come charging with his halberd sticking straight out at the shallowly armored opponent. Rider grinned. He had seen some pretty gruesome things as the result of jousting, but the thrill of it was worth it. It was completely worth it._

_ But he had noticed that Fright was terrified of it. The only reason the ostrich seemed to do it was because the faster he did it, the faster he got out. Rider had ridden him in these tournaments for the past three years (he had ridden a horse known as Shenanigan before then) and he was strong and was easily faster than a horse, but he was so… well, skittish._

_ Above the dirt paths (dubbed 'the Battlefield' by most) was a huge screen monitor. This TV screen displayed what was happening in the Battlefield so viewers who couldn't see well would still be able to see it._

_ There was a booth beneath the monitor where two elves announced over an intercom what was going on in the Battlefield as well. Rider liked to refer to them as 'morons' though because they made such idiotic jokes about such a noble sport._

_ "Rider! How come you never wait for us?"_

_ Rider turned and saw his mother and father walk into the arena. His mother had green skin and pale, baby-blue hair. She wore a brown dress all the time. Rider really loved his mother. She supported his love for jousting all the way and wouldn't care if he chose a beetle as a steed. But his father was a different story._

_ His father was an elf, but others constantly made rumors about him secretly being a drow. He had darker green skin than a regular Life elf, and his hair was more of an indigo color rather than blue. His ears also appeared sharper than most. Rider sometimes would wonder whether those rumors were true or not… after all, instead of blue hair, Rider had black hair, which folklore states is a physical sign of a wrongdoer's offspring... His dad walked over to Rider and spoke gruffly. _

_ "Son, y'know, you don't have to compete—"_

_ Rider cut him off by shoving him backwards. "Trying to talk me out of jousting again? Dad, I like jousting, I'm eighteen, I can do as I want! Why not show me some support for once?" Rider glared at him. His father had always been against him jousting. Always. He was tired of it. He was eighteen, wasn't he? He could joust if he wanted to!_

_ He turned away and hopped onto Fright. The morons began talking over the intercom, and Rider noticed that the seats of the Battlefield were filling up fast. While most were elves, there were some gremlins and even a couple Thaumaturges. One particular Thaumaturge had always been there to see him joust… He wasn't quite sure why, but her name was "Chill" and she would always come to see him joust._

_ "Rider and Cole, get ready!" One of the Morons spoke (Rider knew his real name was Zack). "Time to joust, fellas!"_

_ Rider smirked and nodded. "That's right! And we're going to win!" Rider tapped Fright's thigh and the ostrich moved forward, right to the edge of the left dirt path in the Battlefield. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip around Fright's reigns. He felt his eyes dilate. This was the part he loved. The thrill of the ride. The fear of the ride. The ride._

_ "One… Two…"_

_ "Get ready to bite the dust, Drow!" Cole sneered._

_ Rider refused to let his taunts derail his thoughts._

_ "THREE!"_

_ "LET'S RIDE!" Rider kicked Fright's thigh and they bolted forward. Fright was charging full speed, kicking out sand behind him. Rider had his spear held straight out, the silver edge sparkling._

_ Midnight and Cole were coming just as strong. The halberd Cole bore was a large spear with a wooden handle. Rider bit his lip as they came close… Midnight's blue mane was flying out behind him. _

_ Rider felt fear race through him as they collided. His spear met Cole's upper body first. Cole's neck was nearly sliced, but Rider was able to readjust his spear and have it merely knock him off Midnight. Rider may have not liked Cole, but he didn't deserve death._

_ Fright started slowing down once he reached the other end of the track. Rider breathed regularly again. They had just done it again! Haha! But, what was he thinking? Of course they'd done it again! _

_ "We're quite the impressive team, eh, Fright?" Rider rubbed the ostrich's neck. Fright's eyes were dilated wide and he was visibly shaking. Rider rubbed his neck harder. "Hey, come on Fright, it's okay…"_

_ "T'at was wonderful."_

_ Rider turned around. There she was, Chill. She wore a suit of blue metal. Her helmet had wing-like pendants on either side. Her eyes were blue, with a line of lighter blue going through them. She carried nothing but an ice javelin attached to her belt with her. Rider smirked. "Don't you have an ice kingdom to be guarding or something?"_

_ "It… it doesn't matter... So, you won again?" Chill asked. Rider thought she sounded a bit funny answering his question, like she was hiding something… _

_ Chill came from an ice kingdom not too far away. They normally weren't too friendly to outsiders, but Chill had always been a little different—but in a good way. She walked up closer to Rider and righted his helmet. "You just let t'at idiot Cole keep ruining himself. Okay?" She told him._

_ "'Course! Cole's just a—" He broke off when Chill suddenly hugged him. He blinked at her. "Er… is everything okay, Chill?"_

_ "Rider, I have been promoted!" Chill exclaimed. Her blue eyes glimmered. "Now I guard the ice queen! Today was my last day off, so I wanted to come and say goodbye to several friends… But I'm sure we will meet again one day…. I hope?"_

_ "I'm sure we will," Rider smiled. "Well, good luck to you, Chill!" He hopped back onto Fright and led the ostrich away to where one of the Morons, Zack, was standing. _

_ "Oh, looks like Rider may have found himself a rider, hmmm?" Zack teased him, putting his hand over the microphone so it wouldn't be heard by everyone._

_ Rider just blinked at him. "Be quiet or I'll stab you in the mouth."_

_ "Heh, right… Anyway," Zack uncovered the microphone and blared into it, "Rider's the winner! Not that surprising, really."_

_ "Yeah, yeah, let that Drow take all the glory!" Cole spat, walking closer. He yanked the microphone out from Zack's hand. "Don't you boneheads get it? He's a drow! Just look at his hair!" Cole threw Rider's helmet off his head, exposing his black hair. Rider quickly tried to put his helmet back on, but it was too late. The damage had already been done._

_ "Forbidden!" Many of the elves exclaimed. Rider heard many more comments go around._

_ "No way—Rider's a drow?"_

_ "Wow…"_

_ But he turned and dreaded seeing Chill's face. The thaumaturge just shook her head at him and mouthed, "Why?"_

_ He walked back over to her and whispered. "Chill, I'm not a drow!"_

_ "But your hair!" She pointed at his black hair. "No Life elf gets black hair unless they're part Drow or have been corrupted by somet'ing! Ot'erwise, it is impossible!" He tried to move closer to her, but she shoved him away. "Go away! Leave me alone!" She turned and ran out the arena through the backstage door._

_ Rider felt his heart drop like a stone. He clenched his fists and jaw. "I should have killed Cole when I had the chance!" He roared. He stomped back out into the arena. "Yeah! I'VE GOT BLACK HAIR! What do you want to say about it?" He bellowed. The crowd merely glared contemptuously at him. He jumped on Fright's back._

_ He kicked the ostrich's thigh and Fright began to move forward. Rider was stopped by his mother and father._

_ "Rider, it's not—" Rider cut off his mother's statement by glaring at her._

_ "Rider, it's—" He cut off his dad's sentence by sticking his spear out at him, though. _

_ "I'm not stupid! I know you're at least part drow!" Rider snarled at him. "Why couldn't you have run off with some drow elf rather than a pure one? Why couldn't you just have ignored him!?" Rider demanded, whirling his spear from his mother to his father. When neither answered he ground his teeth and rode Fright away._

That was just the day it all began. I've got a lot more to tell you than that. Besides Cole practically ruining my life and Chill leaving me forever, there was a lot more to come… All of which I regret deeply…


	2. Hidden Talent

_**Hidden Talent**_

_Rider threw his helmet to the ground and kicked it across the floor, sending it into some hay. Fright flinched and moved over to the far left corner of his stable, shaking a bit. Rider instantly felt guilty and walked over to him, rubbing his neck._

"_No, no, no, no, no, Fright, it's fine, I'm sorry…" Rider but his lower lip. "I didn't mean to scare you…"_

_Fright continued to shake for a few seconds, but then stopped. He looked up at Rider, his blue eyes shining._

_Rider sighed and ripped a single strand of hair off his own head. He glared at it disgustedly. "Stupid git… thanks to him, I'm practically a walking curse," Rider threw the hair to the ground and stomped over to a shelf on the wall of the barn. He kicked it and it rattled, causing several buckets to rattle violently. Rider blinked at it and looked up. "Uh oh…"_

_The buckets fell, and paint was dumped everywhere. A bucket full of blue paint fell on his head, turning his hair and face blue. "Ugh!" Rider threw it off. "Ah, great! Could today get ANY better? Now I've got blue hair and my suit is rui—wait a second…" Rider moved to the very end of the barn, where an old faded mirror stood._

_He looked into it. Despite being covered in the sticky blue paint, his hair was now also coated in it. He smirked. "Fright, I think I know how we're going to that jousting tournament tomorrow…"_

_The ostrich only blinked in response._

_Rider shifted uneasily in the strange outfit. It was brown and gray, and quite uncomfortable. It felt as though it was squashing his hips. He had gone to a store at an island that he probably shouldn't have gone to (Cutthroat Carnival… and the shops there are crazy!) and bought blue hair dye. He had washed out the paint from his hair that had gotten in it yesterday during his 'tantrum'._

_He was wearing his helmet still, but it had been stained blue. He had managed to wash most of it off except for the blue that had coated the normally red bristles at the top. Fright shook his head in what Rider swore was exasperation when Rider jumped on him._

"_Don't give me that look," Rider grumbled. "Now come on, or we'll be late!"_

_Rider swore Fright rolled his eyes as he ran forward. This time, nothing got in their way of getting to the arena._

"_Oh—it appears we may have a new rider!" The other moron, Zane, called from the intercom._

_Rider suddenly realized that riding Fright, an ostrich, was almost dead certain to give him away. He looked down at the ostrich and pulled off his helmet for a second, reaching into the stained blue bristles._

_Just as he had expected, not all of the paint had been dried. He took what he could get out of the bristles and slabbed it on Fright's white feathers that surrounded the base of his neck._

_Fright squawked defiantly, but made no more noise after. Rider rode him over to the edge of the battlefield._

"_Wonder who the new guy is, Zane?" Zack asked his partner. _

_Morons, Rider thought to himself irritably._

"_Dunno. Guess we'll just call him Rookie, 'cause I'm not going down there to talk to him 'cause he looks mean… and slightly insane for riding an ostrich, I mean, didn't he hear about Fright and Rider? And wow that helmet's shiny… and oddly colored… eh, whatever, three…!"_

_Idiots, Rider thought again._

_Rider looked to his right, across the Battlefield, and saw Cole on Midnight's back. Rider glared at him. This time… it's for the kill…_

"_Oi, new kid! Be careful and try not to get your blue hair red!" He called._

_Rider sneered back, "I'll try not to, COLE!"_

"_What?" Cole looked dumbfounded. "Who—?"_

"_Two…!"_

"_Get ready, Fright," Rider whispered, clutching the reigns._

"_THREE!"_

_Rider kicked Fright's back right thigh and the ostrich thundered forward. Rider poked his spear straight outward, pointing it right at Cole's throat. Cole appeared to have noticed, and he suddenly pointed his spear right at—Fright's chest!_

_Rider jerked the reigns in the opposite direction, causing Fright to nearly knock himself over. But they avoided Cole's spear and Rider had been forced to drop his halberd. Rider was breathing fast and quickly. He could have sworn he was going to see Fright speared and dead, blood all across the Battlefield… _

"_Ooh, and that was a foul!" Zack and Zane shouted at basically the same time. _

"_Both competitors have been judged to have been trying to intentionally harm one another. There will be a rematch; if it happens again, both will be disqualified for the next two tournaments!" Zane called._

"_Yeah, yeah, we get it, you moronic buffoons!" Rider yelled. He probably shouldn't have… Cole knew him far too well. He had probably already figured out that 'Rookie' was actually 'Rider'._

_Rider walked back out onto the Battlefield and picked up his spear, and then helped Fright back up. The ostrich's eyes were dilated again and he too was breathing heavily. Rider rubbed his neck. "Come on, come on, it's fine," he whispered, leading him to the other end of the Battlefield._

_Cole and Midnight were already at the other side. Cole was smiling at Rider for some reason. Rider bit his lower lip. He didn't want to know what Cole was smiling about. Chances were it wasn't anything good._

_Rider got on Fright's back, but the ostrich gave an alarmed squawk and attempted to knock Rider off by jumping. "Hey!" Rider grasped onto Fright's neck. "Hey, hey, hey, it's fine, Fright, really! Nothing's going to happen to you!" Fright calmed down, standing still, but Rider could still feel him breathing hard._

"_Try to be careful this time, Rookie!" Cole sneered._

_Rider ground his teeth. Know he knew Cole knew it was him. "Come on, Fright, let's at least knock him in the dirt before he blows our cover," Rider sighed._

_Fright walked obediently towards the very edge of the right dirt path. Cole was aligned on the other side, on the left, and Midnight was pawing the ground with his front left hoof. The stallion flicked its blue tail._

"_Three…" Zack counted._

"_Two…" Zane followed up._

"_One!" Zack shouted._

_Fright bolted forward before Rider had a chance to even tap his thigh. Rider had his spear sticking straight out at Cole, but aimed at his shoulder. Cole had his own spear aimed at Rider. Rider couldn't tell just what he was aiming it at, but when they collided…_

_Rider's spear managed to hit Cole on his shoulder and had enough force to knock him off Midnight, but Cole's spear, at the same time, had left a nasty gash on Rider's arm. Rider got to the end of the Battlefield and dropped his spear, looking at his arm._

_It was bleeding badly. The cut had to be at least four inches long and an inch and a half wide. Rider attempted to cover it up with his sleeve, but it soon bled straight through, leaving his sleeve stained red._

_Cole picked himself up off the ground, walking in a huff toward Rider with Midnight in tow. Just then, Zack and Zane began talking at approximately three hundred words per second through the microphone. _

"_Whoa! Did you see that? Rookie knocked Cole right off Midnight! Then again, Cole's been biting the dust for years now, but still! Oh, wait, I think Rookie's injured, though…" Zane stopped and Zack picked up._

"_Oh well, let's go see!" Zack came out of the booth and dashed over towards Rider. But before he got there, Cole shoved him and began talking to him._

"_Rider, do I look stupid to you?" Cole demanded._

"_Yeah, you do," Rider spat back._

"_Well I'm not, and I know it's you. I won't reveal your secret yet… I'll just let you screw it up sooner or later," Cole smiled and pushed Rider again, this time, he fell on the ground. Cole turned and pranced back over to Midnight, jumping on his back. The horse charged at Fright, but then turned and walked calmly away._

_Fright had panicked and run in the other direction, but he soon stopped. Rider called him over and the ostrich stood next to him, trembling. Zack got to Rider and put his microphone to his mouth._

"_Well, you're certainly a strange one! What's your name?" Zack asked._

"_Er… Mark…" Rider lied. It was one of the most common names ever, so it just happened to be one of the first that jumped to his mind. Zack nodded. _

"_Nice name. But I must ask… why an ostrich?" Zack tilted his head._

"_Oh, uh…" Rider blinked at Fright. If I don't come up with something quick I am SO busted! "B-because one of my favorite jousters had an ostrich. His name was Rider, wasn't it?"_

"_Didn't you hear? Guy's half drow," Zack told him._

"_Yeah… I know, his dad is a drow, from what I know. Sad, but true, and he was a good jouster…" Rider lied, trying to bite back the hatred he wanted to spit at Zack. "So, I went and got an ostrich when I was younger before I ever knew about Rider being half drow…"_

"_What's his name?" Zack asked, looking at Fright. Fright scuffed the ground nervously._

"_Er, um… Painter…" Rider said the name as he looked at Fright's neck, which was still slathered in blue paint. Fright looked offended by the name, but made no verbal resistance._

"_Odd name, but I like it! Let's hear it for Mark and Painter!" Zack shouted, doing a fist pump. Rider scanned the crowd. Chill wasn't anywhere to be seen. Whether it was because she knew Rider wouldn't be there (or, from what she would have been able to tell…) or because of her duties as ice guard, Rider had no way of knowing. He clenched his fists. He didn't need her. Ice-hearted Thaumaturge… No wonder their homeland is raided so much, they're all stone-cold jerks… Just as cold as the snow they live in._

_Rider was surprised by how much hooting and hollering followed Zack's words. Rider gave a small chuckle as he thought, he might be a moron, but he knows how to get the crowd going._

"_Well, what're you going to do now, Rook—I mean, Mark?" Zack asked._

_And there he goes being a dumbass again. "Go home, practice for the next few tournaments, I guess."_

"_Alright then! Next up, we have Alana and Rage against Toro and Loco!" Zack fist-pumped again._

_Rider didn't need to stick around to see the next two teams joust. He already knew who they were. Alana was a bright, happy-go-lucky young elf who loved to joust with her white and brown horse Rage. Toro was a navy-blue-haired elf with at least nine years of experience over everybody else in the jousting sport. His horse was Loco, a dark gray and black horse with a white mane and tail._

_Rider carefully mounted Fright. The ostrich was acting awfully jumpy. When Fright did not make anything of Rider getting on top of him, Rider rode him out of the arena. He trotted over the pathways back towards his home, across the bridge… _

_Rider smiled as wild excitement raced through him. Yes! The plan had worked! But his excitement died away just as he got to his home. His father was waiting right in front of the barn, tapping his foot._

"_What did you do, Rider?" He demanded._

"_What's it to you?" Rider spat, grasping his spear slightly tighter. "Now move."_

"_Not before you tell me what you did."_

"_I went and jousted, that's what!" Rider exclaimed. "Now move!"_

"_But they…. Rider, I know I am a drow, and I know that has made you half drow… and we're sorr—" Rider cut him off._

"_Just shut up and move. You two had me out of an accident, I'm not stupid," Rider snapped. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his dad. It was true; his mother had said before that they had never intended to have a child, and that Rider had been unintentional. Even though this statement was often followed by, "but that doesn't mean we don't love you all the same" or "I wouldn't change it for the world", Rider didn't care. Why did his mom have to choose… him?_

_Rider's dad sighed and stepped sideways. "Fine. Go ahead."_

"_Good choice," Rider said hatefully, jumping down from Fright's back and walking him into the barn. _

"_Be in the house in time for dinn—" Rider cut his dad off._

"_Just get out of here!" He shouted._

_Rider's father didn't respond. He merely trudged away from the barn back towards the house._

_Rider smiled. "That's right, you leave me alone," Rider began to groom Fright's neck with a watery rag, trying to wash out the foul-smelling paint from his white feathers. Fright looked irritated, but made no attempt to stop him._


	3. Ice-Hearts Through and Through

_**Ice-Hearts Through and Through**_

_Over the next two weeks, nobody questioned Rider further. Although Cole made it clear he knew exactly who he was, and that he was going to make the most of it. Rider knew that meant blackmail. But he had no idea what._

_On Sunday, Rider was cleaning off Fright, feeding him, yadda yadda yadda, when he heard a commotion._

_Rider had managed to pull off his disguise for over two weeks now; he didn't want anything to mess that up. The dye in his hair had started coming off, the black ends poking out. He put on his helmet and peeked outside._

_"I just want to see Rider!" The heavily accented female voice called. "Now, please let me t'rough, Mister Rapisardi."_

_Rider didn't believe his ears. He looked back into the barn and at Fright, who was standing in his stall, blinking innocently at Rider. Rider gaped stupidly ever still. "Fright, did you stuff hay in my ears or something?" But when Rider checked his ears there was nothing there that could muffle his hearing or make him hear wrong._

_It was Chill's voice he was hearing._

_"I'm afraid he can't right now," his father's voice said smoothly to her._

_Rider balled his fists. Couldn't he go in the house and watch television or something? He marched outside and looked around. The grass was springy and bright green. Chill as well as another Thaumaturge Rider didn't recognize were talking with his father near the faded, old opening gate._

_Chill's blonde hair was flopped in her face in frustration and the male Thaumaturge with her had short, aquamarine hair. He had an icy spear with him and a smaller, round shield. They were much different from Chill's long, potent-looking javelin and her beveled edge shield._

_Rider walked over to them, his fists still balled tightly. He stopped once he was behind his father and tapped his foot irritably on the ground._

_"Somet'ing tells me you should look behind you," Chill growled to Rider's father._

_Rider's father did so, and when he saw his son, he averted his gaze. "Hello, Rider. These two wanted to see you… I thought they might have wanted to say—"_

_Rider brushed him off. "I don't care," he spat. "See you," he said dismissively._

_"And I t'ought we were cold," the male Thaumaturge remarked._

_"Excuse me, but uh, who are you?" Rider asked him as his father walked off, cursing mutinously under his breath._

_"Name's Celsius!" Celsius grinned, holding his spear over his shoulder as he talked. His aquamarine eyes felt as though they were staring into his soul. Rider had to break eye contact with him. "Chill here talks about you all t'e time. And I t'ought Leo could be a blabbermout' when it came to girls. She's t'e same way about you, except she's a girl and you're a guy, but… yeah," Celsius smirked as Chill reacted by blushing, and elbowing him in the ribs._

_"Ow!" He jumped, giving her an amused glare._

_"Chill?" Rider remembered all too well what had happened the last time he had seen her. It still stung like a fresh wound. He found it hard to even look at her, and he wanted to stop the hopeful feeling that fluttered in his chest. But he couldn't. His hopes rose high._

_"Yes, Chill, who did you t'ink I was, Queen Cold? Anyways, I went home and realized how stupid t'is entire hair t'ing was. I mean, really. It's your hair. Hooray, Rider has darker hair t'an most ot'ers of his species. Let's all cry like babies about it," Chill rolled her eyes, and shuffled her feet nervously. "Sorry I acted t'e way I did."_

_The shocked expression must have been evident on his face, because Celsius began laughing and held his hands up in the shape of a camera. "Chill, we need to get t'is on photograph, his face is priceless!" He pretended to snap a picture. "Now, Rider, you don't happen to have a spare camera lying around anywhere, do you?"_

_"Not that I recall…" Rider was still gaping stupidly at Chill, as though she'd sprouted an extra head, and Celsius continued laughing at him._

_Chill elbowed him again. "Will you shut up? Your laugh gives me a headache!" She smirked at his feigned hurt expression._

_"Chill, t'at was cold, just plain outright cold," Celsius put his hands on his hips and pretended to frown at her._

_She rolled her eyes at him and looked at Rider. "So… what have you been doing lately? I might've gotten over my black hair jealousy, but somet'ing tells me Zack and t'e ot'er idiot won't be so quick to."_

_Rider breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how Chill had managed to come to such a conclusion in two weeks, and become so comfortable with him right there, but whoever had talked to her and convinced her there wasn't a reason for her to doubt him, he was grateful. He wanted to ask Celsius if it had been him, but he didn't seem very mature for his age… which Rider assumed was eighteen, like Chill. Rider shook his head. That didn't matter right then. "You'd be right," he answered her grimly. "Heh, and you might want to start calling me 'Mark', and Fright's 'Painter'."_

_"Mark? I know at least ten Marks," Celsius piped up, sounding as though he'd been pulled away from focusing on something interesting._

_Chill nodded. "You have started to go by a different alias?"_

_"That'd be correct," he answered her again._

_"Smart," Chill commented. She then looked straight at him. What was with the eyes of Thaumaturges? It was like, whenever they look at you, it's like they look straight through you rather than right at you. Rider shivered, forcing himself not to avert her gaze. "But I have to warn you, Cole—"_

_"I know about Cole. He knows who I am," Rider murmured._

_She sputtered in disbelief. "But if he knows, t'en how are you—? He's not giving you trouble, is he?"_

_"Birds are trouble. T'ey get caught up in flying machines, appliances, and t'ey're always mucking up everyt'ing," Celsius chimed in yet again, his sentence not making a lick of sense with the conversation Rider and Chill were having._

_Rider broke off what he was going to say and stared at Celsius, who was staring at a blue bird sitting on the ground. He blinked at Celsius and then looked back at Chill. "Excuse me for asking, but he is still playing with a full deck of cards upstairs, right?"_

_Chill glared at him icily. "If you're asking whet'er he's crazy or not, t'en t'e answer is no, he's not crazy," she spat._

_"Ooh-kay then, I know to stay clear of that minefield," Rider murmured to himself under his breath. He spoke up next. "So, uh, what's happening up in the Northerlands?"_

_"Nort'ern Regions, not Nort'erlands!" Chill corrected him. "And… why do you want to know?" She suddenly glared at him suspiciously, backing up. Celsius jumped up from where he was staring at the birds and backed Chill up, abruptly looking much more serious than he had seemed the entire time he had been there. Rider's mind was reeling. What were they doing, playing mind games with him or something?_

_He allowed frustration to overtake him. "What is wrong with you both? You come here to apologize to me, and ask me about what's happening here, but the second I ask about the Northerlands—"_

_"Nort'ern Regions!"_

_"—Whatever! You act like I'm asking something super personal I shouldn't even know about," Rider crossed his arms angrily. "Well?"_

_"Well, Mark, I don't t'ink t'at's a Drow's business, now is it?" Chill sneered. "You didn't really t'ink I came back to apologize to you, did you? Do you know what species has been attacking my home—causing an all-out war we didn't even want—for t'e past t'ree years? Drow! We were sent to gain recon," Chill smiled. "Now, see you, Mark."_

_Rider had no idea what he was doing. In an explosion of rage and aggravation, he jumped on top of Chill and pinned her down, raising his arm far back. His eyes went alight a fiery orange color, and his fist ignited with flames, but it didn't burn… Rather, all he felt was rage pulsing through him._

_Celsius looked rooted to the spot. He stared at Rider's flaming fist with shock and fear evident on his face. He dropped his spear and shield and backed away slowly, Chill giving him a helpless look._

_Rider glared down at her, seeing her in a red tint. He was, quite literally, seeing red. "So, you too! Apparently, I don't have enough people who seem to be trying their damnedest to make sure I go through literal hell! Get lost, and if you ever come back, I won't stop, ice-heart!" Rider snarled, jumping off her. She got up, glaring at him._

_Rider's fist returned to normal and so did his vision. That was strange… The memory faded quickly. Seconds later, he did not remember pinning Chill down and nearly punching her with a blazing fist. It was a fuzzy, shadowy haze; Chill was on the ground and he was seeing her, but he had no idea what he himself was doing._

_"Half elf, half Drow, one hundred-percent-evil! T'at's all you are and ever will be!" Chill snarled at him, holding her shield facing him and her javelin behind him. "And if you ever put your hands on me ever again I'll kill you!"_

_"It'd be no different!" Rider spat right back. "Not like anybody ever thought of me well before now, anyway!"_

_"Good!" She turned and patted Celsius' shoulder. He was staring at Rider with an all newfound respect in his aquamarine eyes._

_"Ch-Chill, did you see—?"_

_"Did I see him use his Drow powers? Yes. He used a Drow Archer's powers," Chill answered sharply, making sure her statement was loud enough for Rider to hear._

_Rider felt panicked. What had he done? What was she even talking about…? All he remembered was her revealing to him they were gaining recon on him. Fury pulsed in his veins again. He ran back towards the barn._

_Inside, he grabbed his spear, and jumped onto Fright, bursting out of the barn in a furious, blind rage. She was no different from his father, Zack, Zane, none of them! She and Celsius—they were both the same! He pointed his spear straight forward and kicked Fright's left thigh hard. The ostrich went charging forward._

_Once Chill and Celsius realized he was coming it was too late. Rider tagged Celsius' arm with his spear, leaving a deep, scarring gash. The male Thaumaturge was thrown backwards. He hit a bush and groaned in pain as he dazedly got back to his feet._

_"Celsius!" Chill called out to him. She turned to Rider, who had stopped and was watching the unfolding scene, relishing every second of it. He glared at Chill._

_"What's it feel like to be hated by someone you once loved?" He demanded. "Huh? How do you like it?!"_

_"Just shut up and go home!" She told him, running over to Celsius. She helped him to his feet, and Rider flinched at the nasty gash he had left on Celsius' arm. It hung limply at his side, looking completely useless._

_Celsius couldn't hold up his shield, as it was his left arm he used for his shield, and his right arm he used for his spear. Chill defensively stood in front of him, holding up her shield, as though expecting another attack. "Back off! You've beaten us; t'ere's no reason to be brutal!"_

_Rider yearned to yell at her that Thaumaturges were as brutal as they came, well-known for attacking foes that couldn't even defend themselves, and torturing their enemies long before defeat. The age-old taunt 'ice-heart' had many legends behind it. Some say it came from the legend about Skali and Kholi. Others say it came from the Thaumaturge's battle style. Others thought it was just some crack-saying used to describe them due to their obsession over ice._

_But Rider felt a deep wave of depression looming over him like a threatening evening storm. It made him feel empty and useless. He and Chill had once been good friends, able to talk to each other and joke about whatever… But that wasn't the case anymore. He needed to get used to that. She hated him, and that was the truth._

_He got off of Fright and let go of the reigns. Chill never took her eyes off him._

_"Chill, I just want to know why you believe I'm any different… When you didn't know I was half Drow, you didn't care," Rider said, his voice cracking. "But now, you act like I'm an entirely new person."_

_She looked at him and he saw tears welling in her eyes. "Rider, I didn't want to believe you were any different! But Drow are what attack my kingdom all t'e time—my mot'er died at t'e hands of a Drow!" She wailed. "I can't just dishonor my entire home by staying friends wit' somebody who has known Drow heritage! I can't!" She then looked behind her at Celsius. "Call Sector O-Two. Get t'em here now."_

_Rider didn't feel any different. She still hated him. He looked back to Fright and swung his leg over, getting back on the ostrich's back. "Goodbye, Chill, Celsius. Hope you have a wonderful life," he whispered, his voice cracking with the threat of tears ever still._

_He turned and walked Fright away, feeling literally broken. That was it… They were done. He was done._

_If they wanted to believe him evil, let them. Tomorrow was Monday… a day for jousting. But Rider decided something he would have never, ever done before now if he thought anybody else still wanted him there._

_He'd ask Cole for a favor… That the stuck-up, shortstack elf might actually want to do for him._

* * *

**Please check the poll on my profile if you are a fan of my story _Skylanders: Darkest Hour: Rise of the Dragon King_!**


	4. Travel By Night

_**Travel by Night**_

_"Enough is enough, Rider! Give it up already! Who knows what they'll do to you once they figure out who you are?" Rider's dad was standing in the gateway that led out to the rest of the small, home isle. He had wide eyes and sounded slightly annoyed._

_Rider tried to ride Fright past him a few times, but each time, he jumped in the way. He was not in the mood for this. "Dad, move!" He spat at him._

_"Rider, no. I've tried to stop you from going out into these tournaments for a long time but you never listen! You're hard-headed!" He grabbed Fright by the white feathers at the base of his neck. The ostrich flared its small wings (ostriches can't fly) and attempted to kick him with his legs out of fear. When he did, Rider's dad was thrown back a bit._

_"See?" Rider glared at his father. "I've told you more than once. No! And it would seem Fright agrees."_

_"No, that poor ostrich is frightened out of his mind!" Rider's father exclaimed as he got back up on his feet, puffing and holding onto the railing of the gate. "But of course, that's your fault, now isn't it?" He asked Rider, staring right at him. "Yesterday do you know how long it took to get those thaumaturges to leave the Elven Kingdom? They had to send out a team of forest elves in order to get rid of them! Because of you we could have thaumaturges beating down our door next!"_

_"Do shut up!" Rider snapped. He didn't want to hear any of this. Thaumaturges were irritable enough by themselves. He knew that he had done something unforgivable, but he had no idea what… He couldn't remember. "I don't care. Move!"_

_"Leave him alone, Mister Rapisardi."_

_Rider looked past his father. Cole was riding his horse, Midnight, close. Rider gave him a dark look, unsure of why Cole would be coming to his home. Cole lived on another island, just the next one over, in the tight-knit village of Life elves that knew one another on a first-name basis. Rider guessed Cole had managed to tarnish his reputation all across there, too._

_"Cole!" 'Mister Rapisardi', as so many people put it, jumped and looked behind him. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Wanted to have a word with your son. And also, I think you can leave him alone. I do believe he knows the risks of what he's been doing lately. You don't have to be so harsh about it," Cole growled._

_"Blast it all!" Rider's father cried. "Fine, go! Do whatever it is you want, then! Children!" He waved his hands angrily as he walked away, before irritably stuffing them down in his pockets. "Never do listen! None of them!"_

_Rider ignored his father and looked at Cole suspiciously. He didn't trust this elf at all. But he did have a favor to ask him… "Cole—"_

_"Rider—"_

_When they both realized they'd spoken each other's names at the exact same time they both looked up and blinked at each other. "Er, you first." Cole said, clearing his throat, looking almost embarrassed with the way he twiddled his thumbs._

_"I needed to ask you something. I know you've fiddled around with magic. You told me so yourself when you were younger, 'round fourteen, if I remember right… Anyways, I've heard of one spell… I wanted to ask…"_

_Cole looked up at him in surprise. When Cole was younger, he had dabbled in magic from the Magic elves that lived on the other side of the Elven Kingdom. "Want me to do what? And for you? How on Skylands do you suddenly trust me even though I've been acting like, for lack of a better word, a complete jerk, lately?"_

_"Because when it's all said and done with it won't mean anything," Rider muttered. "The_ inferorum _spell. I know that you know it." The_ inferorum_ spell sent the person to the underworld, basically killing them in the process (considering it was a living being being banished to the underworld). It had been developed nearly three hundred years ago to contain evildoers from the underworld (AKA "Hell", as humans know it) that had escaped. Magic-elemental beings used it all the time to send those of the Undead back to the underworld if they were not meant to leave it._

_Cole's jaw practically hit the ground. "Okay—first question—are you_ insane? _Second question—_have you gone mad? _Third question—have you gone insane _AND _mad?!" Cole was leaning over Midnight's head. The horse whinnied in annoyance and stamped its front right hoof. "Quiet, you moronic horse," Cole snapped at it._

_Rider impatiently shook his head. "Cole, I'm not nuts, but—"_

_"But you just want me to go trigger happy with my spells and boom, to the underworld you go?" Cole shook his head, his ears bobbing. "No, no, and no again! Do I look like a killer? I send you to the underworld alive, you'll automatically be killed and join the ranks of the Undead. The only way the Skylanders were able to do it to retrieve the Mask of the Undead and all that stuff was because Eon put a protective spell over them. Of course, to the Undead Skylanders Cynder, Chop Chop, and Ghost Roaster, it wouldn't matter much, but… You know what I'm trying to say! It'd be suicide, Rider, and you know that!"_

_"Why do you think I asked?" He muttered. It was true. Rider didn't want to be there anymore. If nobody wanted him… why stay? Hell, he'd just had a blowout with his dad, he didn't even want to be around him anymore. Then his mother was basically the same, except she stayed away from her son for some reason. Rider had jumped the gun and taken the guess it was because he was part drow._

_"What… what's happened to you?" Cole's eyes went wide. Rider forgot all about Cole wanting to ask him something. He just wanted to somehow have Cole wrap his head around what he was trying to tell him._

_But his anger was getting the better of him, as it always had. "Listen! I don't care, alright? What did you think would happen when you decided to yank my helmet off in front of everyone and they saw, well, me!? I thought I could trust you with that secret when we were younger! Oh, if only I'd known what a spack you'd grow up to be!" It was Cole's fault all of this had spiraled downward so quickly!_

_"Oh, a spack now, am I? For what? Not wanting to kill you? To me, it sounds more like 'I actually care for you, so no, I'm not going to kill you'," Cole growled, Midnight scuffing his foot. "Besides! How would I even do it? Everyone would know I had killed you! I mean, it wouldn't be that hard to figure out!"_

_He kept using that word. 'Killing'. He wasn't killing anybody… well, in a sense he would be, but in another sense, all he was doing was 'sending'… Also, why did he say he actually cared for Rider? He hadn't said that, or even acted like it, since they were much younger…_

_"I don't know, make it look like an accident or something…" Rider trailed off. "Never mind. It was a stupid idea from the start. Sorry to drag you into it."_

_He went to walk Fright past Cole and Midnight, but Cole reached out a hand and stopped him by tapping his shoulder. "No. I'm sorry. I was a… pretty big idiot to go and do that. Rider?"_

_"What?" Rider asked dully, looking up at him. He felt far too miserable to really care what Cole had to say._

_"We can be friends again, right?"_

_Rider felt an upsurge of anger. Did he think that after he had ruined his life that he was about to let him back in, no questions asked? Boy, did he have another thing coming! Rider then thought… Maybe if he couldn't ask Cole nicely to do it for him, he could maybe… make him jealous to the point where he wouldn't be able to restrain himself. After all, he and Cole were about the same when it came to temper. "Now it's my turn to ask you whether you've gone insane or not," Rider growled, shaking his shoulder away from Cole. "No. Of course not. After what you did? Why would I even think of being friends with you?"_

_He coldly walked right away, tapping Fright's right thigh. The ostrich sped up and trotted quickly over the bridge. He only slowed down once they walked by the higher-standing bushes._

_Rider heard Cole running up behind him. "So, you have the audacity to ask me to kill you, and I don't bite your head off for it, but when I ask whether we can be friends or not, you go ballistic? Oh, now I see how it is!" Cole yelled. He rode up next to Rider and threw his helmet at him. "And you forgot that, you dumbarse!"_

_Rider's plan was already working. He caught the helmet and put it on his head. He had truly forgotten it… His hair was still dyed blue; it was just the top part of it that was beginning to fade back to black._

_Fright sped up after Cole and Midnight, which led them straight to the jousting arena._

_"And it's Rookie, or Mark, whatever it is you fans want to call him. I personally like Rookie and Painter a lot better than Mark and Painter, but eh, who knows," Zane called out over the intercom._

I've never met such an annoying elf in my life!_ Rider thought in his head, pulling back on Fright's reigns to bring him to a stop._

_"Mark!" Cole sneered at him, holding up his spear. "Why don't we play nice this time?" There was something about the softness in his voice that made it sound all the deadlier._

_Rider smiled. All according to plan._

_"You wish!" He yelled back. He tapped Fright's thigh lightly, walking him up to the edge of the Battlefield. He was on the left side. Cole rode Midnight up to the top right side of the Battlefield, pulling out a brand new spear. This one had shining gray metal all across it._

_Rider had his own spear with him. He pulled it from its sheathe at his side and let the sunlight hit it just right so it would send a shimmer across the bladed end. Fright scuffed the ground with his feet nervously._

_"Hey, Cole!" Rider would have to make him angrier than ever if he wanted this to work. Cole glared up at him._

_"What?" He demanded._

_"Let's see if you can beat me, you son of a bitch!" He laughed loudly._

_"Oh, we'll see, alright!" Cole snarled. "I'll knock you fucking senseless!"_

_"I doubt that very much!" Rider laughed again. It was forced, of course, but it would enrage Cole anyway._

_"Whoa, Zack, I'm sensing a lot of hostility on the ground there," Zane said._

_"Who cares!? Three, two, one, GO!" Zack yelled._

_"Let's ride!" Rider kicked Fright's thigh hard, sending him into a sprint. Rider pointed his spear out, intentionally pointing it at Cole's own spear. Killing him would prove quite fruitless to the plan he had in mind… But already, Rider was wondering whether giving up the thrill of riding in a jousting match was really worth it… If Cole did use the spell, then he would go to the underworld, and there'd be no jousting there. At least, Rider couldn't imagine there would be._

_But Cole apparently saw nothing but red. He pointed it at Rider's arm. Rider managed to knock Cole's halberd out of his hand long before it ever came close to cutting him, though. Cole was left with a bit of a nasty mark on his arm, however._

_Rider felt a wild thrill go through him. He had won yet again! No surprise, really._

_He stopped at the other end of the Battlefield and patted Fright happily. This was exactly what he had needed. Maybe he shouldn't have enraged Cole so much… Was he really willing to give up his life like that?_ Oh, man, I was such an idiot! _He thought, thinking about his earlier conversation with Cole._ A suicidal, moronic idiot…

_But unfortunately for him, Cole had been pushed too far over the edge. The shorter elf came marching over to him on Midnight's back. "Now, before I send you to hell, Rider, I want everybody to know just who you are!" He yelled, throwing Rider's helmet off by hitting it with his spear._

_Fright gave a start and Rider yanked on the reigns to steady him. Here he was, yet again, at Cole's mercy. Only this time, it was his fault. All his… as usually everything is… His father's words were still quite alive in his mind... He closed his eyes and imagined what his father had told him earlier, ignoring the gasps of surprise Cole received._

"No, that poor ostrich is frightened out of his mind!" Rider's father exclaimed as he got back up on his feet, puffing and holding onto the railing of the gate. "But of course, that's your fault, now isn't it?" He asked Rider, staring right at him. "Yesterday do you know how long it took to get those thaumaturges to leave the Elven Kingdom? They had to send out a team of forest elves in order to get rid of them! Because of you we could have thaumaturges beating down our door next!"

_Rider felt the thrill of winning the match die and misery replace it._

_Cole then reared back his arm. "I don't think anybody wants to see your pathetic face anymore, fool! I've certainly had enough of it!_ Ut in inferorum_!" He yelled, pointing his fingers at Rider and waving them in a hypnotic fashion._

_All Rider remembered from that was a lot of crashing, banging, and a painful burning sensation._

* * *

**Yes, I left out Hex's name when Cole was talking about the Undead Skylanders on purpose.**

**WELL THEN! Dun, dun, dun. And Rider... Tsk, tsk, tsk.**


	5. A Chance Encounter

_**A Chance Encounter**_

* * *

_"Rider?" Zack came running towards where Cole was standing. The green-skinned elf looked extremely pale, and Rider was nowhere to be seen. Fright was staring at where Rider had been seconds earlier with wide eyes, squawking loudly._

_Fright stared at Zack and Cole through wide eyes. So Cole had gone and done it? So… Rider was dead?_

_Cole lowered trembling hands, and stared at where Rider had vanished. He sputtered silently for a few seconds, and then spoke in a strangled, soft tone. "R-Rider…?"_

_"Cole, what the hell?" Zack shoved Cole back. Midnight, the large, coal-black horse, scuffed his feet and whinnied loudly from across the field._

_Zane came running over. "Zack, what happened? Where's Mark—er, Rider? Bah, I don't know who the bloody hell he was, but what happened?"_

_"It was Rider, and Cole did something to him," Zack said. He pointed at Cole. "Zane, get Cole, call the Task Force. I'll handle Fright."_

_Zane walked over to Cole and grabbed him by the arms, pulling them behind his back and flattening him to the ground. Cole made no attempt to escape. He still looked ghostly pale. Fright continued squawking, calling out for Rider, but when Zack took a few steps towards him, he fluffed out his feathers and kicked out his feet._

_"Whoa, Fright!" Zack backed away._

_Fright was over this. He had seen enough. Jousting was not fun, not at all; it was a dangerous, bloody sport, and it had cost Rider his life. Fright turned and ran out of there, spraying Zack with dirt._

_He blindly ran back towards the barn and Rider's home. He stopped once he came to the barn, breathing heavily. His blue reigns were hanging around his neck and his pupils were dilated, his feathers bristled._

_Mister and Misses Rapisardi came out of the house to look at him. Misses Rapisardi looked fearful of what Fright would be doing there without Rider on his back, and Mister Rapisardi had a look of grim knowing on his face._

_Misses Rapisardi made her way over to him. "Fright…? Fright, where's Rider?" She spoke lightly and gently, as if Fright could answer her. Fright would have to give her some clue… Some sort of hint… Right? Fright dipped his head, and scuffed the ground._

_"Well, I told that boy it would happen! I told him they'd find him out!" Mister Rapisardi was still grumbling as he petted Fright's neck. "Come on, Fright; can you let me ride you back to see what's going on?"_

_Fright panicked for a second. Go back? For what? Rider was dead, Cole had killed him, and what was worse—he had been sent to the underworld in his death! Fright didn't want to go back anywhere near Cole!_

_His best friend… Rider… Gone. Just like that._

_But Fright allowed Mister Rapisardi on his back. He didn't like it, as he knew Rider and his father had had many arguments, and were not as a normal father and son would be, but he would deal with it. No matter what had happened between them, Mister Rapisardi deserved to know what had happened to his son._

_"Do be careful," Misses Rapisardi practically whimpered, hugging Mister Rapisardi. "Tell me what happened to him when you get back…"_

_"I will," he nodded glumly. "Alright, Fright; forward…" He clumsily tapped Fright's thigh, but not in the usual place Rider did it. It felt like a sharp jab. Fright didn't start running forward as he normally would. He slowly meandered forward, hanging his head. Rider was gone…_

_"Come on, Fright, I know you can go faster than this," Mister Rapisardi murmured disapprovingly. Fright resisted the urge to bite his pointy little ears off. Most elves were the same; they thought animals were non-sentient beings that didn't understand emotion. Boy, were they wrong._

_He kept trying to get Fright to go faster the entire way back, but Fright wouldn't do it. He didn't want to get there faster. Hell, he didn't want to go there at all, let alone faster._

_Once they did finally get there, the jousting arena had been cleared out. There were no people watching anymore. Other jousters that had been scheduled to go on later that day had left. Elves of all different elements were there, covering the place._

_Fright recognized the 'Task Force' as Zack had called them earlier. They were a group of elves that operated together to bring wrongdoers to justice and investigated crimes. Cole was being held back by some Water-elemental elves, which Fright recognized by their blue skin and silky hair. He still looked deathly white in the face and wasn't saying anything._

_Midnight was pawing the ground agitatedly from behind two Tech elves. While they had green skin like any Life elf, it was easy to recognize their element because of their hair, which could be anywhere from bright yellow to crimson. He had ropes tying him to a wooden post._

_Zack and Zane were talking with a few Life elves and one Fire elf. Fire elves were oddly similar to Life elves, as they had green skin, blue hair, and had the same look about them. But they had a strange accent (Rider had always said it was because they spoke a different language in their part of the Elven Kingdom) and they also had small fire like pupils in their eyes._

_"I'm telling you, he was there one minute, gone the next. I have no idea where he is, all I know is Cole said something, then whoosh, bang, pop, Rider was gone," Zack snapped at one of the Life elves, crossing his arms irritably. "Do I look like I understand Magic to you? Ask a Magic elf or two, they might be able to tell you something. Hey, Violet! Yeah, you!" Zack pointed at a female elf with rich, purple skin and flowing, sapphire-blue hair. She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Can you explain to Sherlock here that I'm not skilled in the art of alakazam? Goodness me!" Zack turned and stomped away._

_"What in the blazes is going on?" Mister Rapisardi jumped off Fright's back, but dragged him forward by the reigns. Fright honestly wished he hadn't._

_"Well, we're in some deep schist now, aren't we?" An Earth-elemental elf laughed. He had tan skin that gave off a silvery sheen, and white hair. "Father Bear's going to tear spell-happy over there to pieces," he pointed at Cole._

_"Spell-happy? What the hell is going on?" Mister Rapisardi demanded yet again._

_"Erm, Mister," a male Magic elf walked up to him. He had red hair and, like the female elf Zack had talked to, purple skin. "Are you the father of Rider Rapisardi?"_

_"Yeah, why?" He asked, his ears perking slightly. "What's happened to him?"_

_"We're…" The elf trailed off, looking embarrassed. "We're not entirely sure. We've scanned this entire area, and we can't seem to find anything related to his disappearance. But we're going to interrogate Cole Cozma in a moment. From the witnesses we've spoken to, we know that Cole was standing over Rider, a flash of light, and then he was gone."_

_"So, you're telling me my son disappeared in a flash of light at that boy's hands—" Mister Rapisardi pointed at Cole—"And nobody's, as you put it, 'interrogated' him yet?"_

_"There's much more to it than just interrogating him," the elf growled. "Go home. We will tell you what we know when we get the information. Take the ostrich with you. From what Zack and Zane said, he ran off earlier and they were unable to restrain him."_

_Rapisardi's hands slipped off Fright's reigns. Fright looked up and saw that Midnight was beating his hooves against the wooden pole that was keeping him there._

_Cole looked over to him. "Watch out! Midnight, calm down!"_

_"Shut it," one of the elves in front of Cole hissed at him, shoving him firmly back to the ground. "You're in some pretty deep trouble if you've done what some of us think you've done."_

_Cole made no reply; he just swallowed hard and went, if possible, even more pale-faced._

_"Whoa, Midnight, whoa…" A Fire elf murmured, trying to pet Midnight's side. The stallion kicked and neighed loudly, sending him flying. He beat at the pole harder, and it finally came out of the ground. Fright, spooked, turned and began to run._

_Midnight was soon at his heels. Fright 'snarled' (more like a squawk that sounded like he had something wedged in his throat) and stopped running, trying to kick at the horse with his feet, but it didn't faze him much._

_"Listen, stop that nonsense right now, you stupid ostrich," Midnight whinnied, scuffing the ground. "I was trying to get away from there so I could tell you something. There's a way you can get your friend back from the underworld. Ever heard of skele-oats?"_

_"Skele-oats? N-no, I h-haven't. And why should I tr-trust you?" Fright stuttered, still feeling a little spooked. He didn't like this horse, not one bit, and didn't trust him any more than Rider had trusted Cole._

_"Well, I've heard that the Skylander Ghost Roaster can make them. They basically turn you into an Undead being, and then you can go to the underworld and rescue Rider. Don't get me wrong," he paused and sighed, which was a really drawn-out, low whinny. "I never understood why Rider and Cole began fighting in the first place. I was as shocked as the next horse when he went and did that… I'm sorry."_

_"It's not your fault anyway," Fright murmured, calming down. "But how am I supposed to just find Ghost Roaster? Surely he'll be at the Skylander's Citadel?" Fright didn't so much as think twice about having to turn to an Undead being. Rider would be the same, so it wouldn't matter._

_Fright had put up with a lot from Rider. His anger outbursts, having paint slathered across his white feathers, and much more… But he did it for a reason. He loved Rider as a friend, and would always be there for him. No matter what. If Rider was dead, then he'd be dead too._

_"Yeah, he'll probably be there. And before you think I'm a strange person for knowing about skele-oats and all, Cole read a book about them once. He reads out loud whenever he reads, so I overheard him," Midnight answered._

_Fright was about to reply when he heard some elves coming. His heartbeat picked up immediately. "Thanks for the information Midnight, I, erm, I'm going to go now…"_

_"Go where?" Midnight asked, moving forward slightly._

_"I'll think of a way to get to the Citadel," Fright nodded. He turned and bolted forward, heading full-speed towards his home. Balloon pilots floated around Skylands all the time… Some had super tiny balloons, others had ones that looked like miniature cruise-ships. He'd stow away on one or something of the sort. But before he could do that, he'd have to wait, and he'd do that back at home._

_But Midnight would not be as lucky. He would be treated as 'evidence' to an investigation until further notice._

* * *

_Rider staggered to his feet, holding his head. It felt like somebody was hitting him in the head repeatedly with a sledgehammer he had such a bad headache. His vision was foggy the pain was so bad._

_He rubbed his eyes and blinked, his vision clearing. He gasped at what he saw. Ragged, black stone covered the ground, and a few skimpy and long-dead trees littered it. The sky was pitch-black, lit up only by a single full moon (although it had only been a half-moon the night before) and thick, gray clouds covered it. Ravens flew through the air here and there and a few sat on the dead trees, staring at Rider with what he swore were red eyes._

_Feeling a cold dread in his chest, he looked down at his own hands. Rather than green skin, the skin on him was a shadowy blue color. Rider threw off his helmet and purposely messed up his hair so that some of it would fall in front of his eyes. It was as black as midnight all over again._

_"Nice to see you're awake. Didn't think you'd ever wake up."_

_Rider whirled around to see who had spoken to him. To his astonishment, it was another elf. She too had dull, blue skin and black hair. But a cowl covered it. He could only tell it was black because some stuck out from beneath it. She had pure, white, pupil-less eyes as well. She floated above the ground some, an oversized gown flowing out behind her. Purple mist billowed out from beneath her._

_Rider looked around. Where was his spear? He saw it beside a silver boulder a few feet away and ran towards it, picking it up and pointing it at the elf. He was in the underworld, where evil beings went when they died. For all he knew, she was some murderer._

_"Cool your jets, hot stuff. My name's Hex," she told him in a long, silky drawl. She didn't sound worried at all that he was holding up a spear in her direction. "And you are?"_

_"Rider. My name is Rider. But now you're going to tell me why you're here," Rider growled, tensing his grip on his halberd._

_"Nothing much. Just came here and kicked Malefor's ass, really. Or at least enough to make him leave me alone. Unfortunately, it had a bit of a side-effect I didn't know about…" She sighed. "I was a Magic elf. But now, like yourself, I am an Undead elemental being. I came here on purposes of giving Malefor a reason to leave me alone. I was successful. I was about to leave, but then you dropped in—quite literally."_

_Rider relaxed a little, but he dared not drop his spear. "So, you're friendly, right?"_

_"Friendlier than you, anyway," she chuckled, pointing at his spear._

_"Well, I don't know you yet," he said. "And I was just suddenly thrown into the underworld. Forgive me for saying if you are good, but for all I know, you're an evil being with intent to harm me," he sheepishly gave a small smile._

_"Fair enough," she said in that long drawl yet again. Rider thought it was pretty cool, to be completely honest. "How were you just 'thrown into the underworld', then, Rider?"_

_"Cole," he spat the name like it was poison in his mouth. "I, er… I kind of riled him up to doing it, but I didn't come here by my own bidding, if that's what you're asking. Cole's dabbled in magic… so he knew a spell to send me to the underworld," Rider paused. Should he tell her about him being suicidal? Maybe he shouldn't… not yet, anyway. "And I guess me and Fright beat him one time too man—wait, Fright?" Rider felt panic flare in his chest. Where was Fright?_

_"Fright?" Hex echoed. "Who in the name of Lenna is Fright?"_

_Lenna was supposedly the goddess of the Magic element. Rider had read that once in a book. But he didn't care about that right then… Where was Fright?_

_Rider didn't see him anywhere. He sighed in relief. "At least Fright wasn't put through this literal hell with me."_

_"Again, who's Fright? Your boyfriend?" Hex smirked._

_"What?! No! Fright's my ostrich!" Rider exclaimed, blown away by her ability to joke around at a time like this._

_"Alright, alright, sorry. Gee whiz, take a joke, why don't you? And ostrich? I thought jousters used horses… Humph. Say, you're that elf who's half drow, aren't you?" She asked him, curiosity in her voice._

_"Oh, no, I'm not getting into another one of these discussions. Let me guess, you're one of my biggest fans, huh?" Rider asked in annoyance. Somebody else who was going to poke away at his heritage. Just what he needed. "But yes, I am."_

_"No, I was just wondering. I think it's cool," Hex grinned. "Bet you have all kinds of crazy different powers and all, huh?"_

_"I'm not sure…" Rider's mind immediately returned to the anger burst he'd had with Chill. He still couldn't remember what he'd done to her. "I think I might have some sort of other power. But otherwise, I'm not certain."_

_Hex floated over towards him. He dropped his arms to his side so his spear wasn't sticking straight out at her. "Before I was turned goth mode, I was a sorceress. My full name is Hexalian, but everyone always called me Hex for short, so it sort of became my nickname. That name ring a bell?"_

_"Hexalian? Yes, I think it does…" Rider racked his brain. The name sounded familiar. "If I did, it was a long time ago."_

_"Not surprising. I had Malefor on my tail for the longest of times. Even after Cynder and Spyro kicked his ass, I still had to come here and kick his ass again," she crossed her arms, looking quite arrogant in Rider's opinion. "But before then, I had to go into hiding for a while."_

_"Well… do you know of a way out of here?" Rider asked._

_"It's a sketchy way, but I think I have a spell. I might have to think on it for a while. I was thinking of a way out before you came along," she murmured. "I had it in my head then, but it's left me now. I don't recommend you go wandering off to make friends here, though. One, we can't take any back with us. Two, half of'em are serial killers pretending to be rape and murder victims. Three, the other half of'em are 'liberators' bent on bringing Malefor back," Hex shook her head in amusement. "As if. He's gotten so many ass-kickings in his life he couldn't come back if he wanted to."_

_Rider found himself laughing at her dry humor. First time he had laughed in quite a while, actually. But it didn't last long… Fright was probably scared out of his mind. And what if Cole tried to do something to him? Rider balled his fists. Cole had better keep his spell-happy hands away from Fright!_

_"You okay there, Rider?" Hex asked him. "Keep digging in your hands and you'll hit a blood mine."_

_Rider realized that his nails were digging into his palms and that he was indeed beginning to bleed. He stopped. "Sorry, was just thinking about somebody… So what're we going to do while we wait for you think of your spell?"_

_She grinned, revealing teeth. "Ever played Orball?"_

* * *

**I got Hex very late, so I imagined her joining the Skylanders late. Plus I felt like it'd be bad not to include Hex here somewhere. And Rider... you'll never beat Hex at Orball because she changes the rules every time. xD**


	6. Two Ravens, One Stone

_**Two Ravens, One Stone**_

* * *

_Hex continued to smirk and Rider felt a little unnerved. What in the world was Orball?_

"_Come on, it's not that bad," she rolled her eyes at Rider and conjured a dark, violet orb in the palm of her right hand, rolling it around in the air. "Just catch and throw it back…" _

_There was something about the way she said it that made Rider feel very uncomfortable. His hand tensed around his spear again._

"_And you might want to drop the spear, hot stuff, or else you won't be able to catch it," Hex murmured, pointing at Rider's hand. She now actually looked slightly concerned about the spear he was holding. "Maybe I should tell you, that even though you're already dead, unless you're a skeletal spirit or ghoul, you can be killed again. It pretty much erases you from time and space altogether, though."_

"_What?" Rider dropped his spear out of shock rather than her recommendation and blinked at her. "What do you mean?"_

"_Well, you're in the underworld. There are three different things you can become when you enter the underworld. An Undead being—which we are, a skeletal-creature—which is simply the skeleton of the person that was changed, done by horrible inexperienced magic (or magic used for the wrong purposes, like the Arkeyans used it to create mutants and soldiers) that cannot be reversed, which is actually used as a common suicide method—and then ghouls, or ghosts. They have unfinished business they must take care of, and even then, the only thing they can do afterwards is go to, well, here. Hell," she explained. "Only Undead and skeletal beings can be killed a second time though. Undead beings can be killed by any of the same forces a living person can, as they were more than likely changed by an unintended force—such as with you, another's evil Magic, and as in with me, traveling to the underworld while alive._

"_Skeletal beings can be killed a second time if their skull is crushed or if a highly skilled Magician (I don't mean the cheesy movie stuff either, I mean anybody who can control Magic with high skill!) curses them in some way. _

"_Usually, this method cannot be used on ghosts or ghouls, but sometimes, though extremely rare, it can be done, but ghosts and ghouls cannot be killed a second time. Merely, they appear mutated or distorted," she finished by brushing off her gown, though it was not dirty at all. "That's why I told you to be careful. Some of the others here aren't like us; we're the easiest to be killed a second time. It's harder to kill any of the other three types. Undead beings such as ourselves are easy prey for a ghoul or ghost who was a serial killer in his lifetime."_

"_But… how does it decide what you'll be? I mean, I heard when you said how, but could you explain better?" Rider's head was beginning to hurt from all the information._

"_We're wasting time for our Orball game," she grumbled. "But never mind. Yeah, I'll elaborate for your miniscule brain," she grinned, practically ear-to-ear._

"_Miniwho?" Rider echoed, not recognizing the word._

"_My point exactly," she laughed. "Anywho, I'll start with Undead beings…" She trailed off and then took up the statement, talking slower than usual (which, to Rider, was painstakingly slow) and talked in a baby-talk sort of tone, which Rider felt annoyed with immediately. "Okay, so try to keep up with me here. When somebody who doesn't belong comes into the underworld, they are automatically changed, painfully, to that of an Undead element._

"_To become a skeletal-creature, it usually happens from highly toxic or a highly inexperienced magician's doing, which is almost always a suicide attempt by the person asking the magician to do the said spell. But sometimes these magician's go cuckoo in the head, and will curse others. The only other way to become a skeletal-creature is if you go into the underworld and are a dumbass and go walking through the bonefield, Black River, or just get unlucky and meet some psychopath._

"_To become a ghoul or ghost, you must die when you have extremely important unfinished business. Such as consulting another family member, if they need them to, or if something of the utmost importance is left hanging due to one's death (such as in many crime investigations). Or if they do something stupid with magic, that can turn somebody into a ghost or ghoul as well. When the business is finished, they will usually go to Hell, or the underworld, as the unfinished business is almost always bad. But sometimes, such as in the case of someone delivering a prophecy, they will go to heaven or if their business was the caretaking a family member or something of that sort. Yadda, yadda, yadda, boring, boring, boring, did you understand any of that?" She finished, looking at him hard._

_Rider blinked a few times rather blankly. He hadn't really understood a whole lot of it. Ghosts, ghouls, Undead beings, something about skeletons… But he didn't want to have to sit there through another lecture. "Y-yeah, I got all that."_

"_Liar, liar, pants on fire," she smiled and threw the orb she was holding at his pants, and they actually caught on fire! Rider dropped and rolled out of instinct, smothering the flames. Hex was standing rather than floating from laughter, and she looked as though she was going to fall on the ground in her laughing fit._

_Rider brushed off his clothing. His pants were now charred and stiff. "Hardy har har," he growled. "Hilarious, just hilarious. If that's Orball, I'm out!"_

_He didn't feel much like playing a game anyway. Hex had entertained him with her long, wordy descriptions of Undead beings, ghouls, and skeletons, but the entire while his mind was slipping to a darker place. Like what would happen if he ever did get out of the underworld and back to his home. _

_Surely no-one would want him back? He was already known for being half-Drow, he didn't even want to imagine everybody's reaction to him suddenly being an Undead element as well. There were elves of all elements—Life, Magic, Tech, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Undead—but the only reason there were ever Undead elves was because of some outside force corrupting an already established elf's element. No elf, unless their parents were Undead elementals, was ever born an Undead element. _

_In the Elven Kingdom, there were only two isles for Undead elves due to the low number of them that actually lived there. The isles were quite small as well. If an elf did turn dark, they usually didn't stay in the Elven Kingdom for long due to the amount of venom and hostility usually aimed their way._

_And he was going to be one of them. Hex probably wouldn't mind. She honestly sounded like she'd be willing to take on the world, so Rider wasn't much worried for her. But Rider had taken a lot of blame and other things during his lifetime due to his heritage, most of it happening recently. Cole had always known, along with his parents, but usually only Cole would tease him about it. And that had only happened when they got into their teen years… Others who heard Cole taunt Rider about his halfbreed heritage soon started doing the same, but nobody ever really took Cole seriously until just the other day…_

"_Hey, hot stuff, what're you doing, daydreaming?" Hex snapped her fingers in his face. "Come on, I was just saying we should get somewhere else before we play the real Orball game I was talking about."_

"_Oh, oh, right…" Rider blinked and shook his head. He hadn't noticed his eyes well with tears. He wiped them away quickly. "Where to?"_

"_No idea. But I'd rather we not stay here," she scanned the area urgently, seriousness replacing her arrogance. "I say we head to the Down Under."_

"_Down Under?" Rider echoed dumbly again. He, of course, did not know this place yet. He had only just been sent there, after all._

"_It's just a place where another Undead being—which is what we are—is. He's actually quite the charmer, and here I thought the underworld was for evil people," Hex smirked, her moment's seriousness gone. "So, let's go!"_

_How could she possibly know whether this creature was good or not? Did she know him well? Had she asked him all the necessary questions? All Rider knew was that he'd better keep his hands to himself!_

_He wasn't quite sure why he was suddenly so irritable about this other person she was talking about, calling him a charmer and whatnot. Hex floated across the black stone, leading him away from the spot where he was standing._

_Clutching his spear tightly, he walked after her, sticking close. They didn't talk too much as they moved. Hex floated by a wall built from literal bone, and Rider more or less crawled past it, earning a laugh from Hex. Rider was disturbed by the amount of bones and black stone there was all across the place. Not once did he see a living tree. They were all gnarled, broken, and dead. _

_It wasn't until they came across a huge, thick, needless to say, dead tree, that they saw another creature. "We're here!" Hex announced happily._

_The creature was a black dragon with red markings all across his body. Marks of the Undead, all going from his forehead to the base of his tail. His eyes were sky blue, and his horns raked upwards, connected at the bottom before connecting to his head. He had a metal bracket around his neck. It was smooth, and came to a steep point on his chest. He also had shimmering, smooth anklets on. His underbelly was red, and his tail ended with a jagged spear point. He had similar spear points on the spines of his wings too._

_Rider instinctively drew his spear. "Hex, watch out," he whispered._

"_Relax, hot stuff, that's Cadaver. He's fine," she smiled and floated over to him. "So, I found a friend today, Cadav."_

"_Please don't shorten my name and call me Cadav," he rolled his eyes and ran his paw down his face exasperatedly. "My name is Cadaver. And who is this?"_

"_Rider," Hex answered, beaming at him devilishly. "I wanted to play a game of Orball with him. You mind?"_

"_Not at all," a grin crept across Cadaver's face. There was something about him Rider didn't like. The Mark of the Undead was usually meant for someone who had been touched by irreversible, undeniably, pure evil energy. Rider had heard that the Skylander Cynder had the Mark of the Undead branded into her forehead due to her past with Malefor. Rider could only guess why this dragon had it all over his body… And then of course, if he had a physical body that wasn't a skeleton, didn't that make him an Undead being?_

"_M-kay. So Rider, Orball's simple. I already told you—catch the orb, throw it back," she conjured another orb in her hand, rolling it between her fingers and smirking at it. "Now, catch!" She threw it at him when he wasn't ready. He was still thinking about Cadaver and the Mark of the Undead when she tossed it at him. It hit him square in the chest, putting him on his butt. He landed with '_oomph_!' and the orb vanished. _

_Hex didn't laugh, but she did smile wider. "Sorry, need to keep with my reputation of 'never having laughed' since Malefor corrupted me or whatever. Not sure who really made that rumor first, but I like it and I'm going to stick with it."_

_Rider got to his feet and brushed his suit off. But she had laughed near him earlier...? "Ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha," he pretended to laugh. "Hilarious. Just hilarious. And how does anybody know about you yet, anyway? Thought you said you went into hiding?"_

"_I did. But I had basically a railroad of people who knew me before I vanished. I told a bunch of 'em where I was going before I hit the underworld to kick Malefor's ass. And Cadavs here, who was alive before I came into the underworld (he came to the underworld the day after I did), said he'd heard some rumor somebody'd made of me never having laughed since I was corrupted," Hex drew a pointed grin. "I kinda like it. I think I'll keep that rep."_

"_Oh," Rider murmured. He was over Orball already, and he was worrying about Fright. He knew Fright would be in better hands than if he were with him, but he still wanted to desperately know how he was doing… But he didn't want Hex to know that. With her mentality, she'd probably see it as weakness._

* * *

_Hex yawned and patted Rider on the shoulder. "We might already be dead and all that junk, but we still should sleep. Hey, Cadav, know any good places we can crash where somebody won't try and murder us in our sleep?" She grinned at his annoyed expression at being called 'Cadav' again._

"_What have I told you about calling me 'Cadav'?" He growled._

"_You love it?" She asked, even though she knew he'd never said that. They were still standing in the Down Under. Rider was standing next to her, and was eyeballing Cadaver with what Hex thought was hostility in his gaze. He walked over to the huge tree and slumped down next to it, exhausted, though._

_ Cadaver rolled his eyes. "You're something else, Hex."_

"_I know," she grinned. "Tired, hot stuff?"_

"_My name isn't 'hot stuff'," he called back to her groggily._

_Hex blinked in surprise. "Really? But your Magic signature gave me the impression you were a cross between a Fire and Life element."_

"_I what?" He looked up and blinked at her._

"_Yeah, your element? What were you before you got sent here?" She asked._

"_Life, I guess," he answered, though he didn't sound very interested at all. "Now leave me alone, you've worn me out. Thought of that spell or whatever you said would get us out of here?"_

"_Nope," she answered, relishing his groan of exasperation. _

_Cadaver walked up to her. "Hex, I need to talk to you. Alone."_

_Hex flicked her gaze over to Rider. His ears were perked straight and swiveled towards them, and she smirked at the thought of him being jealous. He was quite easy to annoy, really, even if it had only been a couple of hours since they met. She already knew how easily irritated he was._

"_Sure. Guess I'll leave HOT STUFF to sit by the tree," she grinned, purposely saying 'hot stuff' as loud as possible. Rider waved her off and rolled over, ignoring her._

"_Please, this is important," Cadaver said impatiently, flicking his tail back and forth, the red signs on his tail a blur. Hex didn't trust Cadaver completely, and never had. But she had accepted his company because if he was willing to act nice, that meant she could use him until she disposed of him due to his shady characteristics. Seriously, he had the Mark of the Undead all down his back and his name was 'Cadaver', which meant 'dead body', for crying out loud._

_She switched to a more serious mentality and floated after him as he led her away from the Down Under, and towards a clearing with a sickly, black pond nearby. The water sickened her. From the looks of it, it'd feel more like oil than water if you were to touch it. She had no wishes to go anywhere near the water. A raven flew down and sat at the water's edge. Soon, a whole flock more joined it._

"_What do you want, Cadaver?" Hex growled, already beginning to feel uncomfortable._

"_Not what I want. It's what I'm going to do," he turned and laid eyes on her. His eyes were glowing, and his pupil was more or less a slit in his eyeball. He spoke in a voice that was a hiss, and sounded much like nails on a chalkboard screeching as loud as possible._

"You _will _forget everything you have seen with the one named Rider. He does not exist as far as you are concerned. You are Hexalian 'Hex' Pojamba Cadovra, dark elven necromancer, and you come from the underworld having defeated Malefor so he will leave you alone. You will leave this land using the _Appomulus _spell, and go home, never to return."

_Hex reeled in confusion for a minute, but then… forgot everything about the past few hours. It was more like a black, empty hole in her memory. Nothing but a collection of fading images growing smaller, as though running off into the distance… _

_Seconds later, she couldn't remember a thing at all about the past several hours. Nothing whatsoever. She could remember Cadaver, though. He was still standing in front of her. But she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there or what they were doing there._

"_What's going on, Cadaver?" She asked, confused._

"_Nothing. I've told you how to leave the underworld. You're free to go home now," he grinned._

_She nodded. She suddenly felt an irresistible urge to use a certain spell—_Appomulus—_spell to get home… Back to the Elven Kingdom. But why? They wouldn't accept her, not as an Undead elf. The Undead elves that already lived in the Elven Kingdom were treated horribly and were so stuck-up and proud that they didn't leave to save face, or were blind to the open hostility and dislike sent their way. _

_She'd leave, but she wouldn't go directly home. Not in the exact sense, anyway._

"Appomulus_!" She cried, waving her hands around in the same sort of pattern she'd usually reserve for making an orb. Cadaver grinned darkly as she vanished from sight, moving through space and time insubstantially, to the living realm._

* * *

_Rider yawned and looked up sleepily. "'Ello?" He asked, grogginess causing him to minus the 'h' in the word. He looked around and couldn't see Hex anywhere. Cadaver was resting nearby, his tail curled neatly around his body, wings folded. Rider grabbed his spear from where it lay a few inches away from his head, and poked Cadaver with it, rousing him._

"_Where's Hex?" He demanded. Cadaver looked up in confusion._

"_What? Why do you have that in my face?" He shook himself and scooted away from Rider, keeping his head and tail low out of what Rider guessed was fear. He continued to flick his spear-pointed tail though. _

"_Where's Hex?" Rider repeated in exasperation. Had Cadaver done something to her? Had she abandoned him? _

"_No idea. Maybe she left?" Cadaver inquired, blinking at Rider's spear. "Please put that down."_

_Rider threw his spear down and kicked it. "I should have never trusted her! Or you!" He spat, glaring at the dragon. Of course! She had never wanted to help him, not at all. She had her little 'Orball' game, and after convincing him she'd help him get out of there, she'd left. And who was to say Cadaver wouldn't do something far more sinister?_

"_Wait—!" Cadaver panted, running after him. "I swear, I don't know, okay? But she is a dark necromancer… I bet you she ran off when we were both sleeping," he growled. "Two-faced liar."_

_Rider glared at him. He felt as though he were being patronized or Cadaver was duping him somehow. He couldn't quite place it… He decided he'd simply go along with him._

_But he couldn't stand it. After already losing Fright, getting thrown to the underworld, losing the trust of everyone… Yet someone ELSE had had the courage to do it to him again! It was Chill all over again!_

_He came to a stop at a dark gray rock and sat down on it, burying his face in his hands. Why did they all have to do such things? Why couldn't they simply leave him alone if they were going to do evil things to him? Why did they have to go out of their way to do bad things? It started with Cole, Chill, his own father, and now Hex…_

_Rider turned to Cadaver. "So what now?"_

"_I guess we look for another spellcaster," Cadaver sighed. "But we'll need to be careful."_

"_Of course," Rider nodded._

And that began the year Cadaver and I spent wandering the depths of the underworld, looking for spellcasters and djinns or anything else that could possibly help us get back to the land of the living… I don't remember much of it too well. Not all of it is as clear as those first few hours…

* * *

"Of course not," Hex snorts, taking the page Rider was writing on away from him. "I wasn't there," she grins.

"I'm glad that we finally got our memories back," Rider murmurs, taking his page back from her. "Glad you could help me write this, really."

"It is the Book of Heroes," Hex says matter-of-factly. "And it needs to be as detailed as possible for any of the new Skylander people that come along, y'know?"

She leans against him, and they nod together, though they don't notice it. They're sitting on the very edge of the Citadel, looking out into the starlit sky. Rider had many sheets of used up paper beside him, from earlier pages to his story in the Book of Heroes. The moon is in the shape of a waning crescent, casting just enough light for Rider to see what he is writing.

Nobody else is awake, as far as they're aware. Hex takes the opportunity to wrap her arm around his waist. "I really hate how they all treated you…. And then I just helped when Cadaver went and duped me," she says miserably.

"None of that matters now," he smiles, putting the pain of the memory far behind him. "It doesn't matter anymore, we can move on. It's just a story, Hex. Nothing more."

"For the Book of Heroes," she nods. "Right. But why do you write it like this?"

"Well, the main reason… I want any new Skylanders who decide they want to read my story know that no matter where you come from, no matter what you are, Drow, elf, dog, cat, horse, ostrich—half-and-half—none of it will matter as long as you know who you are, and never lose sight of it. Grab onto it, and hold it tight," he continues beaming, never losing beat of what he's saying. "So nobody ever doubts themselves like I did… So nobody ever makes the mistakes I did. Know who you are, what you are, and love both."

* * *

**So yes, Rider is actually sort of 'telling' his story. This is connected to the third installment of **_**Darkest Hour**_**, so I don't expect anybody to know what they mean by the Book of Heroes. I'm sure you can get the gist of what it is, but you can all speculate and guess how it plays into the main storyline.**

**For those who don't know what the above Gibberish was about, long story short, you'll probably never find out here. All you need to know is the main gist of the Book of Heroes is what they're saying above—histories of past Skylanders, really. Its importance, however, I can't say, as that will mean SPERLERS (translation: spoilers).**

**Also, for speculators, this is NOT THE LAST CHAPTER. I thought the end was too heartwarming to delete, so I didn't want to rewrite it or anything. Sorry, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Gee, and here I thought somebody might actually comment on Rider's behavior or speculate about the Book of Heroes. LOL, I'm only kidding, don't take me seriously. You all took the time to review, so I need to shut my half-wit pie-hole. ^^'**


	7. Cooler's River, True Greatest Pilot

_**Cooler's River**_

* * *

_It had only been a week or two since Hex had left. Rider was practicing something with his spear. Cadaver was watching from a few feet away, his tail flicking back and forth in disinterest as he watched something far off in the distance._

_Rider twirled the spear around on his right hand over his head, and then jumped forward, stabbing it downward at the ground. It punctured the hard, dark earth, and stayed. Rider groaned loudly. "Oh great, I've gotten it stuck… Cadaver, can you help?"_

"_Hmm?" Cadaver looked up, turning his icy eyes on Rider. "Help what?"_

"_My spear's stuck in the ground," Rider murmured._

"_Right," Cadaver walked over and latched his jaws around the handle, yanking it out the ground with ease. "I don't recommend sticking it in this ground. It's like a soft sort of stone."_

_Rider only grunted in response. "So, this Cooler fellow. You said you were going to take me to him."_

"_You wanted to practice with your spear," Cadaver growled. "So I stopped for a while. And I need to figure out how to get to Cooler without crossing that nasty river of his."_

"_What river?" Rider looked up at Cadaver in interest, putting his spear at his side. He took a seat on the ground, and Cadaver curled up in front of him. _

"_Cooler's River, as it's known widely around here, is a dark, boggy river with all sorts of terrible runoff in it. He made a claim to it a long time ago, and even fought for it against the decli. Cooler himself is a myreniclu, though an Undead ghost version of one, and he guards it fiercely. But we're not there to take over his river, we're going there to get help from him," Cadaver explained. "We need his help."_

_Rider looked at Cadaver closely and critically. If Cadaver had only been in the underworld for a short time, how did he already know about Cooler, his river, and all this other stuff? He suspiciously continued to stare at the dark dragon as he began thinking over what he had just said. What were decli and what were myreniclu?_

"_Decli are a purely Undead species. They hail from a crossing of Undead elves, Goldings, and drow. Because of this, they are born dead (which is sort of an oxymoron if you think about it) and only exist in the underworld. Of course, a few have been pulled from the underworld before, but due to their normally nasty temper to outsiders and unwillingness to work with others of other elements (ESPECIALLY Life elements!) they're not well-liked by the living," Cadaver explained further. "And myreniclu are a crossing between thaumaturge, gillman, and human. They do exist in Skylands (most notably Wondrous Waters, Lilly Lagoon, and Freedman's Homehills) and are only found in the underworld as ghosts, spirits, skeletal creatures, or Undead beings."_

_Rider still found it hard to believe Cadaver had only been in the underworld for a short time if he already knew all this. "From how you explained Cooler, he sounds as though he's a bad guy. How do we know he's going to help us?"_

"_If it were just you, I could tell you there'd be no way in hell (pun intended). But he knows me," Cadaver nodded. "So let's get going."_

_Rider couldn't narrow his eyes in suspicion any further, so he just decided to follow him a little slower than usual. But he didn't like how much Cadaver knew if he had only just gotten there a few weeks prior._

* * *

_**True Greatest Pilot in Skylands**_

* * *

"_Fright, listen here, you need to eat now," Mister Rapisardi nudged him, swiveling his pointed ears worriedly. Fright glared up at him and gave a low growl. Oh, it had shocked the living daylights out of Mister Rapisardi when he first heard Fright growl, of course; nobody thought ostriches could growl, but they could, and if Fright had to say so himself, it was possibly one of the most frightening growls of the animal world. _

_But he was used to the growling now and didn't so much as flinch. "Bull, Fright. I'm not scared of that anymore. Now, please eat," he pushed the mixture of grass and oats towards Fright._

_Fright turned his nose up at it and looked away. He wasn't stupid. He had heard the Rapisardi's talking about putting Fright on a ranch due to his behavior lately. For all he knew, the oats and grasses were also mixed with tranquilizers or something._

_Mister Rapisardi sighed and sat back. "Last memory of my son and he refuses to eat," he muttered, burying his face in his hands. He was sitting on the floor of the barn, Fright lying on it in front of him. Most of Rider's things were still strewn about the barn. It pained Fright to look at just the blue paint bucket that had fallen on his head a few weeks ago. The elf had said he was going to pick it up, but he never got around to it. So there it lay, abandoned and forgotten on the hay on the floor, the ground and wall near it splattered blue from where it had fallen on Rider._

_Fright still had some blue smeared into his white feathers near the base of his neck, but they were beginning to fade. He honestly wished it wouldn't._

_He had tried getting out of the barn for the past three weeks since Rider's death. Of course, it hadn't worked, as Mister Rapisardi kept it locked up tight. _

_Whenever Mister Rapisardi tried to get on Fright, he'd snap at him, and at one time, even bit him. When he gave Fright water, he'd drink it when he wasn't looking, but sometimes Mister Rapisardi would sit there for hours just watching him to see if he'd take a lick of the water. Fright was quite determined to drive him insane by not eating or drinking when he was around. He'd gladly eat some of the hay off the floor whenever Mister Rapisardi wasn't around, but he wasn't going to eat a thing while he sat there, watching him._

_Mister Rapisardi looked over to him. "I really don't understand what happened. Why he started hating me so much…" he looked down and Fright knew he was going to start sobbing sooner or later. He'd done it so much the past few weeks it wasn't that hard to guess from the tone his voice took. "I know his and my heritage. I do. But he refused to talk to me, just so I could explain… I didn't want him to joust because I didn't know what would happen. In all honesty, I was scared for what he'd do…"_

_Fright tilted his head in interest. What he'd do? What would Rider do other than joust? All they ever did when they went there—or when they had—was talk smack to Cole and then kick whoever they were jousting's butts. What else would Rider do?_

_It was like Mister Rapisardi was reading his mind. "When I was younger, I met a drow named Lance. 'Course, he was a drow lancemaster, and I don't know if Lance was his real name or not, but that's what he called himself and what everyone called him. He told me that in being a drow, you could do whatever you wanted, and you could have whatever you wanted… I was only a stupid kid, twelve at the time. When I saw the true horror of what they did though, I fled as quick as I could, stopped mastering the Fire element—yes, I was a drow archer, and at one point, a drow lancemaster—and I tried to build a new identity for myself. Came here. I fell in love with Rider's mother, of course, and… well, it went from there," he had tears streaming from his eyes. "I knew having a kid was a bad idea, as the offspring have all sorts of curses or whatever on them, but I was too ecstatic at the time to care… Like I said, stupid kid, I was seventeen._

"_Then of course, I didn't know if my mastery of the Fire element or any of my drow powers would be passed down to him. And I still don't know if they were. If only you could talk, you could tell me, probably. He spent all his time with you," Mister Rapisardi looked up at Fright miserably. "I doubt you even understand a word of what I'm saying."_

_Fright snorted in dismay. Of course he understood what he was saying! Geez, how stupid did this guy think he was? Fright nodded his head, trying to let him know he could understand him, but of course, couldn't speak. _

_Mister Rapisardi didn't seem to catch the hint. "I hate the thought of him… you know…" He pulled his knees close to his chest and continued to cry into his arms._

_Fright couldn't help but to feel a little discouraged himself. Rider was dead. But not truly… for Cole had used the spell that sent him to the underworld, and it was the underworld that killed him. But all the same, it still hurt. He gave a low, half-hearted squawk and nodded. He had seen Rider lose his temper before. Once, when he was sixteen, he had punched a hole right through the barn wall (after a particularly nasty encounter with Cole and another one of his friends, Drackai) with his fist encircled in flames. It had scared Fright, for he was only a few months old at the time, but all the same, he was confused as to how Rider didn't remember the angry outburst afterwards._

_Rapisardi's explanation about his drow powers explained that, and many other, but less notable, incidents._

_Mister Rapisardi seemed to realize his breakdown and wiped his face clean, clearing his throat and sniffling, trying to blow it off. But his ears stayed drooped and he was beginning to look a little bedraggled. "I'm going to go back into the house. Please eat, what would Rider say if you were starving yourself because of him?"_

_The words hit Fright like a freight train, but he knew that was not the real reason he wasn't eating around Mister Rapisardi. He watched him leave, and got to his feet. Maybe doing things just to annoy and fluster Mister Rapisardi was mean… After all, he was only trying to help him._

_But Rider had always acted stiff as a board around his father, and for some reason, Fright felt an odd, compelling feeling to continue that. Once Rapisardi was out of view, he took a light nibble of some of the hay on the floor (he still wasn't going to take a bite of the grasses and oats) and stood up. Rapisardi hadn't bothered to shut the door._

And I'm the fool?_ Fright snorted. Normally, even if Rapisardi left in affronted, weeping fits, he still remembered to shut the door. Fright was a little wary of it. He poked his head out and looked around._

_It was darker. Looked to be about sevenish or so to him. The night was cloudless, and the moon was crescent-shaped. He trotted out slowly, to make sure nobody was following him. Pilots didn't stop here too often, but when they did, it was past the jousting arena… and on the next island over. Luckily, a good jump was all it took to get there._

_Fright hated the thought of having to try and make that jump… One slip, and you were done for. Fright had never been very brave. He had shied away from stray cats and simple frogs before. The only reason he even was able to joust was because Rider would force him forward by tapping his thigh._

_He took one last look over his home. Mister Rapisardi and Misses Rapisardi were probably talking in the living room, as the light in there was lit, but no other room lights were. The grass was swaying in a gentle breeze. Mister Rapisardi had been falling back on cutting it lately. It was up to Fright's flightless wings. The barn door swung and creaked a little in the breeze as well._

_He gave a squawk, as though saying 'goodbye', and turned, running away. The whole island was eerily quiet. There were only two other houses on the entire two home isles that connected to one another through a bridge. They were Zack's house and Zane's house, and they both lived alone, partially explaining their idiotic tendencies (and their horrible luck with women as was demonstrated last year)._

_When he got to the Battlefield, he looked at the quiet and dark field and bleachers feeling quite unnerved. _

"_It's awfully late for you to be up, Fright."_

_Fright jumped and looked back out onto the Battlefield. To his great shock and surprise, Midnight was standing in the middle of the left lane. Fright hadn't noticed him due to how dark it was outside. He was just standing there, staring at nothing really._

"_I could say the same to you. Weren't they holding onto you?" Fright asked, intrigued as to how Midnight could have gotten away from the Task Force._

"_They were. But they sent me back to Comzma's last night. I escaped easily. They didn't really care for me. They were too busy yelling at one another what to do about Cole. Of course he's awaiting trial and whatever by King Lucas—you know how rare murders are here—and I had an easy way to escape. I certainly wasn't going to stay," Midnight answered, walking up to Fright. "Now where are you going?"_

"_Pilots do midnight runs around here," Fright answered. "I was going to try and sneak onto one."_

"_No need to when there are a special group of pilots. If I let you know about them, will you let me come along?" Midnight asked, tilting his head. "You know they'll find Cole guilty and lock him up as well as I do, whether he's sorry for it or not."_

"_Good!" Fright growled crossly, whipping his small tail angrily. "He deserves it! He had no right to do what he did! And I don't care if you come along, really. But please, what do you mean, 'special pilots'?"_

"_The animal pilots. Come on!" Midnight pawed the ground, gave a loud whinny, and bolted forward, his shadowy main and tail blazing behind him. Fright took off after him, catching up to him quickly._

_Fright grinned mischievously. "I've been making you eat my dust for years! Think now'll be any different?"_

"_Oh, don't start that, now!" Midnight neighed in laughter._

_Midnight and Fright continued to run across the ground, tearing up dirt next to one another. Fright loved the feeling of the wind through his feathers and it was so peaceful knowing he had no spear jutting his way. Midnight's mane was, admittedly, very beautiful as it shone in the moonlight, flailing out behind Midnight as he ran._

_They both stopped once they reached the edge of the island. The next island was cram-full of Life elves, and was only a steep jump below them. "D-do we have to jump?" Fright whimpered._

"_As if!" Midnight snorted. "I'd break my legs in that jump! No, they come here, trust me."_

_He kept saying 'trust me', though Fright didn't really trust him that much. Midnight began munching on the grass beneath his feet as Fright scanned the sky. "I don't see anything," Fright complained._

"_Don't worry," Midnight whinnied. "Look! There, near the moon!"_

_Midnight turned his head and saw a shadow flitting across the moon. It appeared to be a balloon to Fright. It came and stopped next to the edge of the island. Inside, rather than a molekin, mabu, human, runt, dwarf, elf, or anything else that normally ran balloons, it was… a cheetah?_

_Cheetahs in Skylands stand on two legs, and have more of a humanoid body structure. They still had fur, the same, golden, black-speckled pattern, but they wore clothes. This one had the brightest, most amber eyes Fright had ever seen (though he'd never really seen cheetahs that close…) and its tail ended in a shadowy black tip. It bowed, and grinned, its canine teeth sticking out of its jaw. "So, 'ow can I do ya for today?" Fright also noticed an accent to him._

_Fright was staring, open-mouthed._

"_Shut your mouth before a fly flies in," Midnight laughed, his deep, snorting laugh. "Go on; tell him!"_

_Fright recalled where he wanted to go. "I wanted to go to the Skylanders' Citadel… to meet Ghost Roaster."_

"_Ooh, sounds like an adventure! 'Course I'll take ya there," he hummed gently, looking over the furnace of the balloon. Midnight nudged Fright. _

"_Come on, let's go. They don't charge anything, because they use balloons others throw away, and they repair them using natural resources, so they don't really cost anything," Midnight told him. "Go on!"_

_Fright grinned at him. "Thanks, Midnight!" They both walked into the balloon and the pilot explained himself._

"_I'm Rellin, by the way. From an island called Notorious Novels, yes I am. Bunch o' writahs there, so o' course the name has sumthin' to do with it! Anyway, the Skylandah's Citadel! Now this should be interestin'! Wahoo, let's go!"_

* * *

"You sure that's all you want for this one Fright?" Rider asks him, tipping his head. "I could add more. Can you remember that that's exactly what my father said?" He asks almost immediately after though.

Fright nods. "I'll never forget it. And yes, I'm sure," he answers in his dark telepathy.


End file.
